I have less than ten minutes of Wednesday left, so let's get to the one-liners!"I don't know what's going on here." -Ray, 2nd grade"I wrote Batman. Sharks are scared of Batman." -Richard, 1st grade"It's easy, like guacamole and cheese!" -Kat, 2nd grade"Teacher! This pencil has two pencils!" -Nathan, 2nd grade Thanks for reading, sorry for not posting more during the week. I honestly don't have a good reason for it, just didn't feel like taking and editing pictures. However, I will have some more fun posts up tomorrow and over the weekend.

Today's quotes are all from second graders with very big personalities. (As always, the names have been changed.)"It smells like cheese in here!" -Emma"Can I use my fancy pencil?" -Jill"How about a unibird? It has a horn, and it's a bird." -Dale"I don't want to sit down, I just don't like the floor!" -Millie

Finding the right concealer is one of those things that you wouldn't imagine to be a challenge. The funny thing is, I was never overly concerned with my dark, under-eye circles until getting hooked on Youtube beauty channels. I used to just buy either one of two concealers that I felt worked well for me. Suddenly I found myself looking critically at every spot, speck, and shadow on my face; deciding that all those imperfections were too imperfect, and that every product I had been using was not good enough to make my skin look absolutely flawless. The dark circles under my eyes became a particular fixation. I began exploring different brands, colors, and formulations of concealers, abandoning the ones I had trusted for so long. Ultimately I have learned that I never should have strayed from what I knew worked for me before.

I'll be honest and admit that I have spent far more on skincare and makeup over the last year than ever before. Thanks to my #feelingspendy bouts, I reached VIB Rouge status before the end of 2014. It's actually ridiculous that I spent that much on just makeup...and skincare, especially considering that I could have used that money for other things, like a new phone or camera. As they say, hindsight is always much clearer.

But let's be real: I clearly didn't learn, because I did some major damage to my wallet over the weekend.

This past weekend was Wondercon, and my husband and I attended on Saturday only this year. Sadly, I was a little disappointed this time around. I [personally] felt that there wasn't enough new and exciting/interesting booths, events, or panels available that I hadn't already seen at the previous Wondercons. Truthfully, once the Husby and I finished walking the floor and had seen all the booths there were to see, we decided to leave earlier than we typically would have for such an event. None of the panels really appealed to us, and we weren't looking to buy a ton of merchandise, so there really wasn't much else to do or see.

Other than the Cosplay, which I did admire, like a creeper.

One of my favorite things about Wondercon is the artists' booths; I just really love discovering new artists and looking through their portfolios. And while there were a few new artists that I hadn't seen in the previous years, the majority were the same and they didn't have any striking new additions to their displays. It's not that I am no longer interested in their art, it's simply that I already own quite a few prints from my favorite artists who were there. I did find one new-to-me-artist, Jackie Huang, whose work I really enjoyed and ended up purchasing one of her prints (pictured above). I really appreciate her use of color, shading, and negative space.

When it
comes to cosplay, I'm like the kid who wants to be part of the cool
group and tries to imitate their style but just can't ever be as cool as
them. I'll see cosplayers create these really unique and interesting costumes that are either exact replicas or interpretations of the real thing, and they look AWESOME. When I attempt to do the same, it just does not pan out right. I pulled another "Lazy Girl's Cosplay," by dressing up as what I called "Cutesy Catwoman." In my imagination, this was going to be a great, unique way to represent my favorite antihero without repeating my previous years' cosplay. However, the execution fell far from its intention, and my cosplay ended up being too obscure and abstract to connect to the character that inspired it. It was cute, but just not Catwoman-esque, or familiar enough. Oh well! I'm going to be starting now on prepping next year's cosplay so that I don't have another dud costume. If you'd like to see my cosplay from previous years, you can explore my Instagram feed. I promise, they're not nearly as lame as this years.

Overall, while this year's Wondercon wasn't my favorite, nor was it the most stirring/inspiring, I had a good time with my Husby checking out interests we both share. I think next year's Wondercon will be awesome.

It's that time again! A new month has begun, which means it's time to talk about my favorites from last month. I tried a few new things this month, and deepend my appreciation for continuing favorites.

Welcome

Hi! I'm Samantha M., or Little Mouse, as some of my friends call me. I am trying to live a life that is full of meaning and purpose, decorated by passion and balance. It has been quite a journey, and I hope you'll enjoy snipets of it with me.